GUEST POST and EXCERPT! Climbing the Savage Mountain by T.A. Chase

Thank you for having me here. I’m T.A. Chase and I write gay romance. Obviously…or I probably wouldn’t have been invited to be a guest blogger here. Lol.

I’d like to chat with you about my new release, Climbing the Savage Mountain. It’s part of Pride Publishing’s What His Passion? Line. It’s also the sequel to my short story, Mountains to Climb.

It features Jensen and Toby. They’d been lovers before Jensen took off without telling Toby he was leaving. His return and what happens then is the plot for Mountains to Climb. This new story is a continuation of their relationship and Jensen’s obsession with mountaineering.

You might be wondering why I picked mountain climbing as Jensen’s passion. There aren’t a lot of books out there about mountaineers. While I’m fascinated by those who chose to climb some of the world’s highest peaks, I’ve never felt the urge to do it. Lol I don’t really like heights and the fact that some of those summits get really cold isn’t appealing to me either.

But I thought it could be interesting to write about a guy who is broken in so many ways that he uses climbing as a way to heal himself. Maybe it’s the idea of conquering a summit and knowing that if he could do that, he could take control of his life.

I’m sure there is something about standing at the top of the world (Mt. Everest), looking out and down on the earth below that can make a man feel invincible. Yet the mountain isn’t so easily conquered. You might make it to the top, but in the few seconds you’re there, the mountain will have changed below you.

It’s a symbol of life in a way. One moment, you’re on top of the world and the next, you’re caught in a storm, just praying for a life line to get you out of it alive. Climbing back down to the base of the mountain gives you a belief that you can survive anything.

That’s one of the underlying reasons I chose to write about mountain climbing. A symbol of survival and strength.

I hope you get a chance to check out Climbing the Savage Mountain. Thank you for having me here today.

Blurb for Climbing the Savage Mountain:

After conquering the world’s tallest mountain, loving Toby shouldn’t be so scary.

Jensen Brockhoff wins his way back into Toby Schwartzel’s heart, but it won’t be that easy to erase the pain of the past. He has two more mountains to conquer and they’re the most difficult.

Toby understands Jensen’s obsession with the highest peaks in the world. He’s willing to wave goodbye as Jensen leaves on his trips, but he can’t help worrying that Jensen won’t come back. That the lure of the mountains will prove too difficult for his love to fight.

Climbing has always been Jensen’s way of escape, yet loving Toby is proving stronger and Jensen must choose between the man he loves and the passion that saved his life. Will Jensen give up his climbing gear to build a new life with Toby?

General Release Date: 13th October 2015

Climbing the Savage Mountain excerpt:

Gripping his knife until his knuckles turned white, Toby stared at Jensen. “Please tell me. You know the waiting makes it worse. How long will you be gone this time?”

Sighing, Jensen set his fork down before meeting Toby’s gaze. “Do you remember me telling you that Cat, Jigger and I had planned on climbing Everest last year?”

Toby nodded even while his heart sank. Everest. One of two mountains still on Jensen’s bucket list. He took a quick swallow of cider, wishing it were beer instead before he motioned for Jensen to continue.

“We couldn’t last year because the climbing season was suspended after all those Sherpas were killed and the rest went on strike. You can’t climb Everest without Sherpas to help you. I don’t care what anyone says. Those men are mountain gods. I wouldn’t go on any expedition to Everest that didn’t use them.” Jensen stabbed at his steak, his expression fierce.

“I remember you telling me about the avalanche and that it was the deadliest single day incident on the mountain ever—even worse than the nineteen-ninety-six storm.” Toby held back the shudder threatening to take over his body at the thought of Jensen being up on that mountain when the storms started rolling in.

“Yeah. So they canceled the season and we couldn’t go. Well, Jigger called this morning and said that we got our permit and we’re going this year.” He was practically bouncing in his chair. “I’m going to fly out to Wyoming at the end of February so we can get in some real climbs and train together. We’re flying into Katmandu around the end of March. We need to get to Base Camp in April.”

“February?”

It was the second week of January. He should be glad he’d had Jensen around for Christmas and New Year’s.

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I would’ve let you know sooner, but we weren’t sure we’d get another permit. The climbing season starts in March, but we decided to try and get there for the optimal time to summit, which is May.” Jensen took a deep breath and Toby could see him visibly reining in his excitement.

He didn’t move when Jensen reached across the table to take his hand with his own. Toby looked into Jensen’s hazel eyes and saw the spark that had always attracted him to Jensen. For the most part nowadays, it was there because of him. Yet Toby knew that the only other thing that could make Jensen shine like that was climbing.

“When will you be back?”

Toby tried to keep his hold on Jensen light, as though he were sheltering baby chicks in his hands. He was exhausted from worrying about clinging to Jensen, afraid that if he became too needy, Jensen wouldn’t come back from one of his climbs. That he’d run away again like he did seven years ago.

“By the end of May or beginning of June—no later. I’ll go back to Wyoming with Jigger and Cat to make sure they’re okay then I’ll come straight back here.” Jensen’s grip on Toby’s hand tightened and Toby gritted his teeth. “I’ve been dreaming about Everest since I first started climbing.”